Fresh Wankhede video shows how Virat Kohli convinced Team India to sing 'Vande Mataram' with crowd during felicitation
A fresh video on social media showed that it was Virat Kohli who convinced the team members to join the crowd in singing AR Rahman's iconic Bollywood song.
Mumbai's iconic Wankhede Stadium, last Thursday, recreated the famous 2011 ODI World Cup moment, when the tens and thousands who gathered at the venue sang AR Rahman's classic, 'Vande Mataram', in unison. What made the moment even more spectacular was that the members of the T20 World Cup-winning Indian team, who were doing a victory lap at the stadium, joined the crowd, thus scripting a stirring moment.
The Rohit Sharma-led Indian side scripted history on June 29 at the Kensington Oval in Barbados, when they became the first-ever side in history to register an unbeaten run to a men's T20 World Cup title haul. The seven-run win against South Africa in the final also ended India's 11-year-long ICC trophy drought, and a 13-year wait for a world title.
Last Thursday, the victorious Indian team landed in New Delhi in the morning, and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi over breakfast, before reaching Mumbai, where there was an open bus convoy, followed by a felicitation ceremony at the Wankhede Stadium. Before the start of the event at the stadium, the team took a lap of honour, which is when the likes of Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, Rohit among other team members joined the packed venue in singing the iconic Bollywood song. The atmosphere gave a feel of the iconic moment in the 2011 ODI World Cup final at the same venue, where the spectators were heard singing the very same song just moments before MS Dhoni sealed the victory against Sri Lanka with a six.
On Sunday, a fresh video emerged on social media, posted by a fan who was present at the Wankhede Stadium last week, which revealed that it was Kohli who convinced the team members to join the crowd in singing the song.
All the members of the T20 World Cup-winning side are currently on a break from international cricket. The likes of Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shivam Dube will, however, return to action from the third T20I onwards in the ongoing series between India and Zimbabwe in Harare. The remainder of the World Cup-winning team will return to the squad for the limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka, which begins later this month. India will play three T20Is and as many ODIs against the Islanders.
